chwoman. They must
have lovers of all degrees and qualities; for vanity is at the bottom of
this assumed humility.

Lodging at Lyons, in which I include board, is extremely cheap: for
about thirty pounds per annum you may board in the first houses, and I
was informed that every one is welcome but Italians. The French have an
extreme contempt for Italians. A house at Lyons may likewise be hired
very cheap. The pleasantest houses, however, are situated out of the
town; and I have no doubt, but that such an house as would cost in
England one hundred per annum, might be hired in the environs of Lyons,
in the loveliest country in the world, by the sides of the Rhone and the
Saone, and with a view of the Alps, for about twenty-five Louis annual
rent. Every house has a garden, and many of them mulberry orchards, a
wood, and pleasure-grounds.

We left Lyons on the morning of the third day after our arrival, much
pleased with our stay, and with the general appearance of the city and
the inhabitants. Avignon was the next main point of our destination. As
the distance between Lyons and Avignon is about 120 miles, we
distributed our journey into three divisions, and as many days.

Lyons is connected by a stone bridge with the beautiful village La
Guillotiere; it consists of twenty arches, and is upwards of 1200 feet
in length. I believe I have before observed, that the provincial
bridges, as well as the roads in France, are infinitely superior to any
thing of the kind in England, and that the cause of this superiority is,
that they are under the controul and supervision of the government.
Every thing connected with the facility of general access is considered
as of public concern, and therefore as an object of government. In
England, the roads are made and mended by the vicinity. In France, this
business belongs to the state and to the administration of the province.

For many miles from Lyons, the road continued very various, occasionally
hill and dale, bordered by hedges, in which were flowers and flowering
shrubs, that perfumed the air very delightfully. It is not uncommon to
find even orange trees in the open fields: the very air of the country
seemed different from any through which I had before passed. There were
many of the fields planted with mulberry trees; I observed that this
tree seemed to flourish best where nothing else would grow--on stony and
gravelly soils. This indeed seems to be the common excellence of the
m